The Wedding Breaker
by Zizania
Summary: Due to an unfortunate incident,the tension between human and asari has escalated quickly. As the First Human Spectre and a human icon, Commander Shepard is forced into a contract marriage with the daughter of the most powerful matriach, Liara T'soni to defuse the tension. Covers Mass Effect 1.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Udina snarled and slammed the datapad onto his desk. He looked up at both Anderson and Hackett, who looked as stressed and tired as he did, and sighed in obvious irritation.

"A tenth frigate spotted in the Sol System? God, do the Asari really want a war with us this badly?" Udina gritted his teeth and picked up the datapad again but instead of reading it he used it to tap his desk with it, "Maybe we should answer this blatant disregard for our boarders by increasing the number of patrol fleets in the area?"

"Udina, sending out dozens of Alliance ships to intimidate the Asari isn't going to win us a lot of support within the council or with any race for that matter. Not to mention most of the other races view Humanity as the big bad bully of the universe and I, for one, don't want to live up to that stereotype," Hackett retorted, not too gently.

"I agree," Anderson began; chiming in his two cents, "if we insist on that course of action the Asari might get cocky enough to actually start something. I'm afraid we might find ourselves in a losing war."

"We practically won the First Contact War; we defeated the Turian's oh so mighty military forces. I bet we could cripple an all female race and I have dozens of commanding officers requesting, no, demanding permission to open fire."

"The First Contact War was different! The Asari are the oldest species in the council and they have the Turians' and Salarians' full support. Those three armies could devastate our forces in the first engagement and force us into a retreat; and do I really need to remind you how much we've already lost? Sir, I have first-hand experience on the matter and trust me when I say that I would do anything in my power to stop it from happening again. The price is too high for us to risk another war!" Hackett raised his voice in irritation.

"I understand your concern, Admiral. We still have Saren and his pet Geth to capture. You're right, of course, we can't afford another war. Perhaps I was letting my anger get the better of me," Udina replied quietly. He dropped the data pad and leaned back into his chair staring off into space deep in thought.

"I think we should take up Councilor Tevos and Matriach T'Soni's offer. " Anderson said suddenly.

"Well, if they think it can subdue the tension I can't think of a better idea," Hackett remarked.

"Let's call Shepard then," Udina said trying to ready himself for the wrath about to befall him.

***LINE***

Shepard paced around the room frantically, running her calloused hand through her untidy jet black hair. "Let me get this straight, I have to marry Matriach Benezia's daughter? Is this a joke? Because if it is, I'm not laughing!" Shepard had been making it abundantly clear that she was upset for the past thirty or so minutes. "Am I... in some kind of vani right now?" Shepard asked incredulously. She stopped pacing to stare at her superiors.

Anderson raised an eyebrow with his quizzical face, "Vani?"

"Yeah, vani, a forced marriage. It's an ancient barbaric custom from East, I guess. You know, for some Asian countries, it's a typical punishment for a crime committed by males which involves the guilty family forcing to marry their young virgin girl to the victimized family, or vani. In another word, they settle disputes, unpaid debts with va- wait why am I explaining this to you, sir?"

Shepard's rambling was interrupted by Anderson's sharp bark of laughter. His favorite soldier had a knack for making a joke at bad times. "Forced marriage? Come on Shepard don't be so dramatic."

Shepard crossed her arms, "Well it does sound like one!" She sighed and added "Anderson, I am a soldier not a damn prostitute. I solve problems with guns not with my body! Oh, and that's another thing! Why do I need to marry a female? This is ridiculous!" Shepard bellowed angrily. She clenched and unclenched her fist. She was loosing her cool.

"Shepard, calm down. The Asari are mono-gender and you know that. Plus, I didn't ask you to sleep with her. Just pretend that you are a happily married couple. Your marriage with Matriach Benezia's daughter is crucial to stabilize our broken relationship with Asari. You are aware that we are in a dire situation right now. T'Soni could persuade other matriarchs to respect our treaty if the marriage between you and Liara takes place. Obviously they will think twice before attacking us; they will not want to jeopardize the marriage between the most famous human and the daughter of the powerful Asari matriarch who has the Council in her back pocket," Anderson chastised softly. He wasn't going to pretend to know how Shepard felt, after all he wasn't the one being forced against his will to marry an alien. If he was in Shepard's shoes he would not agree with this commotion either. In fact he doesn't really agree with it now, it's entirely unfair, but he really doesn't have much say in the matter and neither does Shepard.

"They have boobs Anderson, that makes them females in my book. Argh, just- just forget about that. But why me? For God sake, how can I marry someone I don't even know? Anderson, seriously, please pick someone else. I'm sure there are hundreds out there who would be more than happy to marry one of those promiscuous Asari," Shepard replied stubbornly; there was real venom in her voice.

She found the whole idea to be repulsive and disgusting. Why, of all people, was she the one being forced into this situation? After all she's done? Shepard was a loyal marine, and a damn good one too. She swore an oath to serve the Alliance until her dying breath. She had sacrificed everything for them. How many times had she been wounded, how many enemies had she killed, how many scars did she have crisscrossing her body? It didn't matter because it was what she'd signed up for.

She obeyed every order to the letter and without hesitation. If Anderson asked her to infiltrate the Destiny Ascension and blow it up, right now, alone, she would do it. But this, this particular order made Shepard, for the first time, question her commanding officer.

"Shepard, I don't appreciate your tone. Don't let your past cloud your judgment, I know you've had some particularly unpleasant run-ins with the Asari." Anderson was fully aware the reasons behind Shepard's hatred but she had to get a hold of herself. Shepard snorted sarcastically, to say her history with the Asari was unpleasant was the understatement of the century.

He stood up from his seat and stepped closer to his subordinate. He squeezed her broad shoulder gently. Shepard stopped dead from her frantic pacing.

"You are the First Human Spectre, The Saviour of Elysium, a human icon, people look up to you. I know you hate me for saying this but you are the best humanity has to offer. Your marriage with the matriarch's daughter could have a greater impact on what we're trying to achieve here. Besides, your bar fight with that Asari commando last week didn't help," Anderson sounded tired; after all, they had been discussing this matter for half an hour.

Shepard rolled her eyes. "It was just a normal bar fight, Anderson! Nothing to worry about."Shepard threw up her hands in a defeated manner.

"But that's not how media saw the incident."

"I just-" Shepard's sentence was cut short by a secretary informing them their guests had arrived and they were waiting at the conference room. Anderson quickly rose from his seat and gestured for her to follow him.

* * *

A/n : Thank you Absolute Edge for your corrections.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Having entered the room, Shepard saw Hackett, Udina, Councilor Tevos and another Asari siting at the designated round table. Shepard guessed the Asari seating beside Tevos must be Matriarch Benezia T'Soni. Shepard grumbled quietly and seated herself beside Anderson, directly facing the matriarch.

"Shepard this is Matriarch Benezia T'Soni" Hackett introduced the Asari. She was not sure how to greet a matriarch so she just nodded her head slightly in a polite manner and smiled sheepishly at her. Benezia greeted her with a sweet smile.

Benezia studied her -oh, what's the human term- her future daughter-in law. Interestingly enough, Shepard was nothing like what she had been expecting after seeing the dozens of propaganda videos and posters advertised by the Alliance. She had been expecting an intimidating soldier layered in thick muscle and ravaged in scars to be glaring her down with murderous intent from across the table. Instead, she was curiously examining a young soldier who looked so... ordinary. Shepard was tall with green eyes and short messy black hair partially covering a scar stretching from her right temple to the bridge of her nose. Benezia knew the figure in front of her was could hardly be categorized as attractive, even by human standards, but she admitted the Commander seemed to have her own charming features especially her shy smile that was sweetened by the dimple on her left cheek.

"Shepard, I take you already understand the position we've all been put in but I want you to know that we didn't decide this on a whim," Benezia started the conversation.

"Like that's supposed to make me feel any fucking better?" Shepard mumbled to herself. Luckily, her voice was audible to Anderson's ears only. He nudged her ribs lightly, signaling her to behave.

"You are having a wedding and bonding ceremony in two weeks. After a year, we will file for divorce or separation and the contract will be terminated. So, Commander, you have nothing to worry about because afterwards you'll be free," Councilor Tevos said quickly. Shepard thought momentarily; it's actually not a bad deal. She spent most of her time on the Normandy so she would probably only run into Liara a handful of times. Though, it still didn't mean she agreed with this idea wholeheartedly.

"Wait a second. All of this seems too abrupt, too scripted. I doubt people will believe that the Commander and Liara are getting married out of love. I'm afraid they will suspect the wedding is staged to cover a political fiasco." Udina didn't waste any time in voicing his concern; many things could come crashing down should this fail.

"Not to worry, ambassador, we've thought of this possibility and we've come up with a solution. We will feed the love story to media; spreading rumors that Commander Shepard and my daughter are a couple and have been faithful to each other ever since. I have created a solid background story and I will forward it later. This has also been made exponentially easier considering Shepard has never publicly shown she's been in a relationship with anyone before." Shepard winced as Benezia's words hit her; treating her as an object, as a puppet, instead of a Human being.

They were making plans and suggestions as if she wasn't in the room! Like she wasn't important enough to be asked her damn opinion on the matter. They didn't bother to ask if she was okay with all of this because all they cared about was their own damn agenda. But, more than that, it's the way they kept referring to her in the third person -despite the fact that she's sitting about three feet away from them- that really began rubbing her the wrong way. They were talking about her as she wasn't there, as if she was an alien -well, from the Asari's perspective anyways.

So, Shepard just sat there, staring blankly at the ceiling, vaguely hearing the plotting and scheming going on without her. She felt like she was a maiden from ancient times, when parents arranged their children's marriages and the children were forbidden to seek out their own love. Now, she understood the feelings of those unfortunate children who were forced to marry complete strangers. Shepard sighed and closed her eyes, trying to make sense of what was happening. Eventually, she gave up and concluded that if this course of action could avoid any future bloodshed then it might be worth it. She would go through with this marriage, bonding, or whatever they're calling it now because she knew it was pointless to object anyways. There was nothing she could do now that they've chosen Shepard as a scapegoat. In the end, no matter how good Shepard was on the battlefield she was still a soldier and she still needed to follow orders.

Suddenly, Shepard realized something.

"So, where is Liara?" Shepard interrupted the heated discussion. All eyes turned to her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to inform you that she's in Therum at the moment, probably in a cave digging for something. She's an archeologist who is obsessed with ancient history and the Prothean. Don't worry she has already been informed of the situation," Benezia answered politely.

"She agreed? Just like that?" Shepard asked a little surprised -well, at least she isn't an exotic dancer at some sleazy club... I guess that's something.-

"Yes, Commander. My daughter and I have had many disagreements in the past but, after thinking about the well being of others and not just her own desires, she was willing to cooperate. She understands the importance of bonding with a Human to prevent a war. Oh, I do have her picture if you want to take a look?" Benezia looked down to open her omnitool.

"No, I don't want to see it!" Shepard interjected quickly. Wen the matriarch looked back up with a strangely sad and offended mix before quickly composing herself Shepard realized too late just how harsh she had sounded. Quickly, Shepard continued in cause the matriarch misunderstood her, "No, it just… in the end it doesn't matter how she looks. The wedding and bonding ceremony will take place regardless and I think it'll be easier for me to go through this if I don't know what she looks like." Shepard explained; secretly though, she just didn't want her resolution to falter if she found out she didn't like what she saw.

"One more thing Shepard, Liara will board the Normandy." Shepard felt her gut churn as her brain processed Hackett's words, "I think, by having her accompany you then it will help convince people that this wedding is legit. Besides, Liara's also a Prothean expert so she would be an asset for your current mission anyways." Hackett finished trying to project a sense of authority to prevent Shepard from objecting; but he couldn't prevent the twisted expression of utter rage from showing on Shepard's face.

The Commander felt her rage boiling in her stomach. This was not what she had in her mind. She had many reasons to be angry with the people around her. First, they had asked her to chase Saren across the galaxy even though the council didn't trust her at first. Second, they force her to get married and bonded to an Asari of all species! Now, now, they expected her to be a babysitter while hunting the most dangerous Spectre in the galaxy and armies of Geth? Then what? Take Saren out on a romantic date in the name of peace or dance like a giddy schoolgirl with a bunch of Krogan?

"With all due respect, sir," Shepard began through clenched teeth, "Normandy is a military vessel, thus making it against regulations to have a civilian on board. And I can't juggle the mission and protecting her." Shepard almost hissed. She hadn't realized she'd jumped up in protest or that she'd slammed her fists into the table...

"Shepard," Anderson warned her. Shepard pursed her lips and sat down without another word.

"Allow me to put your mind at ease, Commander. My daughter is an accomplished biotic; she has also been trained by Asari Commandos in weapons handling. Besides, she's managed to save herself countless times while working the Prothean sites. Even though my daughter is young, little more than a child but her skills are hardly that of a child." Benezia spoke slowly but firmly. She wouldn't have her daughters skills downplayed by a Human; Spectre or not.

Shepard didn't reply; she was speechless. It wasn't in awe of this Liara's supposed abilities but, rather, in shocked rage. It seemed that everyone was out to make her life as complicated as physically possible. Shepard let out a slow breath and leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling. There was a short silence after that.

"Shepard is going to meet Liara a few days before the wedding and they will begin their one year commitment. I would like to emphasis that, except us, no one is to be made aware of this contract. Everything discussed thus far is to remain between us, within these four walls." Councilor Tevos spoke with her commanding tone. Shepard snorted and sighed in annoyance, Tevos still referred her in the third person. Everyone nodded with the exception of Shepard who was more interested in stare at the ceiling.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"So what do you think of this Shepard? Do you think she'll be able to provide the leverage we need?" Councilor Tevos asked sipping her tea. She then gently set her cup down, focusing her attention on her best friend and the conversation they were about to have.

"I still have some doubts but she's the best candidate we have. I'm not happy with the notion of having her bonded with my only daughter," Benezia sighed softly., "however, I also understand the importance of this marriage to prevent a war with the Humans."

"Are you not confident in our military strength? Do you think we would lose to them?" Tevos asked raising an eyebrow.

"Tevos, as much as I _want_ to believe that we are superior to the other races I know for a fact that our military doesn't have the brute strength that the Turians have or as technologically versatile as the Salarians' are. We may have much more _advanced_ technology compared to them but not enough of it. I won't take any chances with these Humans." Benezia nodded her head at her friend, "Certainly you can agree that the Human's military prowess cannot be underestimated? They may be a new species in the council but they have an aggressive, ambitious, and defiant nature that rivals the Turians. Remember, we're talking about the same Humans that ended the Relay 314 Incident with _less_ casualties than the Turians and the Turians attacked _first_."

"Of course, I couldn't agree more. After all the reports and vids I've seen of their N7 graduates. They are quite fearsome and formidable in combat; they don't seem to ever give up. The Alliance did manage to produce a skillful, dauntless, and tenacious soldier like Commander Shepard after all. As much as I don't want to admit it I don't think we have a commando who could've single handedly repelled the Batarian slaver attack on Elysium. Still, I think that if we had Turian and Salarian support we could win."

"It would be foolish to depend on anyone elses military other than our own. Do you honestly think the Salarians will lend us their technology and support vehicles if the worst case scenario enters the picture? Many of the Turian commanders now hold a strong respect for the Human's military and their leaders; they will be hard pressed to give us command of their soldiers anytime soon. And, say, even if they do then there's going to be strings attached. We can't truly depend on them if all hell breaks loose." Benezia sighed and looked away for a moment, "Perhaps... Aethyta's _crude_ opinion about strengthening our own military and relying on our own should not be dismissed after all." Benezia feigned calm as best she could as a twinge of pain struck her chest. She hated to admit that her ex-bondmate's presence in this situation would be a welcome sight. Aethyta knew so much about combat, strategy, military... and she didn't want to admit that she missed her terribly.

"Maybe you're right. But, don't you think this plan is little bit diabolical? Especially for your own daughter?" Tevos asked, though the question was more rhetorical.

"It'll be more diabolical if we let more Asari suffer because of a war that didn't have to be and she knows I'm doing that because I care about her and her future," Benezia replied adamantly.

"Still, I'm surprised Liara was willing to concede on this matter so quickly, considering her little rebellious act to become an archaeologist."

"She's my daughter, Tevos, I know how to coax her in the direction I want." Benezia's mind slowly wandered at her last conversation with her daughter.

"_Mother, I can't accept this!" Liara protested. She plopped onto the couch unceremoniously, sitting across from her mother._

"_Liara, don't be so childish. Sometimes a sacrifice is necessary for the sake's of others."_

"_But mother, I can't get bonded with that_ human! _Bonding is not something we take lightly. You know that Asari perceive bonding as a life-changing event, a sacred union!" Liara protested aggressively._

"_You think I'm not aware of that. You think I want to have my little wing bonded to a soldier that I barely know? You think this is not hard for me? But we have to! We have to do this, Liara."_

"_But mother-"_

"_I heard enough Liara, I was willing to close my eyes and let you pursuing your little ambition to be an archaeologist even though I prefer you follow in my footsteps. I let you spent most of your time at dig sites when I prefer you to join me with the meetings. But not this time, Liara. Besides, this bonding and marriage will only last for a year. Then, you'll be free to explore all the Prothean ruins to your hearts content._

"_Mother, I still can't do this. I-"_

"_This is because of Rei, isn't it?" Benezia spat accusingly. Her tone was not gentle._

_Liara was shocked and blushed profusely. She didn't expect her mother to know about Rei. She wriggled her fingers nervously._

"_Rei and I are… just friends," Liara replied quickly. Too quick._

"_I hope so. You know I don't want you to have any kind of serious relationship with another Asari. It's fine if you want to have Rei as your toy or plaything but you cannot get serious with her."_

"_But you had bonded with an Asari!" Liara was not satisfied with her mother. She was deeply hurt by her mothers' remark about Rei._

_Honestly, Liara wasn't sure what to call her relationship with Rei now. She'd had feelings for her friend for quite some time and only recently managed to confess her feelings to her. Liara was overjoyed when the Asari Commando had admitted the feelings were mutual. But they'd never made their relationship public because Liara was afraid of her mother's wrath. Benezia had perfectly made __herself clear that Liara would_ not_be bonded with another Asari. However, when Rei admitted she was tired of hiding their relationship Liara was terrified her mother would find out. Liara tried to amend their new relationship and convince Rei to keep quiet but it was all cut short when Rei unexpectedly received transfer orders out of Thessia._

"_That's why I won't have you making the same mistake Liara!" The matriarch snapped immediately. Liara saw a flash of hurt in her mother's eyes, even though her face remained stoic. Liara knew her mother didn't like when she talked about her father._

_It seemed the conversation was reaching an impasse. Benezia knew her daughter wouldn't budge from her decision unless she did something. She needed to pull some strings. "Liara, I'm sure Rei wants to keep her job as a commando, doesn't she?"_

"_Mother! How could you!" Liara yelled, she stood bolt upright; her body was glowing with biotic._

_Benezia looked at her daughter with incredible stoicism, she didn't even flinch. However, that wall she was hiding behind cracked and she sighed heavily. Benezia pinched the bridge of her nose and stood up slowly. With a quick, sad glance at Liara, drawing the most confused look, Benezia walked over to her desk and scooped up the the datapad. She only half-glanced at the pad, just to make sure it was on the correct screen, and turned towards her daughter and threw the datapad onto her lap. Liara almost fumbled the pad as she wasn't expecting her mother to toss it to her._

"_This is the report of the military transport that crashed last week. The report stated that the ship, the_ Kara_, went down due to an engine malfunction," Benezia said flatly, she tried to keep her tone even._

"_Goddess, the_ Kara_? Is Temara alright?" Liara asked nervously. She was almost afraid with the answer. Temara was an Asari commando who had trained her in biotics when she had been a child. She was skillful and had a sweet temper. They had been friends... Liara's eyes were gleaming with tears._

"_Luckily, she survived the incident but half of her crew wasn't so lucky. Now let me ask you a question, do you really think that ship crashed because of an engine malfunction? A military ship mind you, which undergoes routine maintenance and tests on a daily basis?"_

"_So, you suspect someone sabotaged the_ Kara_?__Who? The Humans?"_

"_We don't have any evidence to accuse them for it... but that's the going assumption."_

"_Then we should strike back!" Liara raised her voice._

"_My dear, that's childish. If we can't provide any evidence to politically support a counter attack then we'll start loosing allies who might think we're just trying to provoke a war. We have to do everything in our power to fix our broken relationship with the Humans for the sake of our children..." Benezia paused, she softened her tone. "I_ need _to protect you... that's why I'm asking you to cooperate with me this time."_

_She slowly approached her daughter and set a hand on her head, caressing her crest. She gently pulled her daughter in for a warm embrace and was eternally grateful Liara didn't push her away._

_Liara stayed silent and let her mother hug her. She felt overwhelmed right now. Being forced to get bonded with an aggressive, brutal, barbaric human?_ -What about Rei?-_her heat sank. She cried silently but didn't let it show on her face. Liara didn't have much of a choice in this matter. There's no way she could win this argument... because what could she say? Putting her own love interests above the safety of hundreds of millions of people who could die in a war... selfish Liara, bad Liara... it's only for a year after all; maybe it won't be so bad._

Tevos cleared her throat and Benezia jumped slightly as her friend snapped her abruptly out of her flashback. Benezia shook her head and sipped her warm tea.

"Back to our topic, I have confidence that Liara will play her part to make this successful on her end but Shepard... I barely know her and most of my knowledge about her comes from what I've read on the gullible extranet and seen on the biased media," Benezia stated her opinion. She set down her cup, crossing her legs gracefully.

"So what did you think of her yesterday then?"

Benezia chuckled softly; she was amused by the question. "I half-expected a mighty, intimidating soldier but she looked rather..." Benezia paused as she tried to choose the correct word to complete her thought, but Tevos finished for her.

"Reserved? Shy? Timid? Ordinary?" Tevos suggested. Benezia nodded, agreeing with her friend. Tevos tacked on, "That's my thought exactly when I first met her. She looked rather plain, just like another Jarhead."

"Jarhead?" Benezia squinted in confusion.

"It's a human term for their marines. How they all have, relatively, the same hair style I think," Tevos replied quickly. She was familiar with some of human terms as she used to deal with them for countless times. "However, I have complete faith in her. Shepard is stubborn but she's ferociously loyal to her Commanders and if they tell her to do something she does it. That's what we want after all, someone a_doer_; she's perfect."

Benezia chuckled once again, remembering Shepard's expression during the meeting. She noticed Shepard barely kept her outburst from exploding during the discussion, but it turned out she managed to keep her temper. "Maybe you're right; we need someone who can obey without question and manage their emotions in the process and Shepard has exhibited both qualities so far. Let's pray this-" Suddenly her omnitool beeped.

She excused herself and opened it.

"Mum! I… chased by Geth… need help…" Only Liara's distorted voice came through. Benezia stared at her omnitool in utter horror at the mention of 'Geth.'

"Liara?! Are you okay? What happened?!_Liara_!" Benezia practically screaming into her omnitool, her voice filled with concern. She was terrified that Liara wasn't responding. Her hands were shaking.

"Liara!"

The call was disconnected abruptly. Benezia's knees weakened and luckily Tevos managed to grab her before she fell down.

"I need to save my daughter, she's in danger!" She quickly disentangled herself from her friend's firm grip.

"Wait, Beni, calm down. You can't rush out toward her like that. We're in Citadel, it'll take days to reach Therum."

"Then what I'm supposed to do?! Wait here and do_NOTHING?!_" Benezia yelled angrily. She knew her daughter was scared, very scared. Liara had not called her 'mum' for 50 years.

"The SSV Normandy is the fastest frigate in existence; Shepard could save Liara faster than you. I think you should contact Shepard," Tevos replied calmly.

*****LINE*****

Ashley, Tali, Kaidan and Garrus almost choked their breakfast when Shepard informed that they were invited to her wedding in two weeks. They stared at her in disbelieve with their almost bulging eyes. Ashley quickly reached her drink and gulped it down.

"Skipper, are you serious? I've never seen you with anyone and suddenly you want to get hitched? With an_Asari?"_ Ashley asked while wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"When did you meet her? I didn't know you prefer women," Kaidan fired up the questions. He sounded disappointed.

Shepard chuckled awkwardly as she had expected these kinds of reactions from her dear friends. She inhaled deeply.

"To answer your questions, uh, I am serious and I met her during one of the N7 training programs with the Asari Commandos on Thessia; you know, before we were enemies. She's Matriarch Benezia's daughter and her mother has blessed our relationship. And, oh Kaidan? Liara is not _technically_ a woman." Shepard was proud of herself for studying up on the helpful information forwarded by Benezia and now she could answer any questions about her so called _relationship_.

"Then why didn't you mention her last week when I asked if you had someone special, you said no." Kaidan was not satisfied with the answer.

"I've known her for a while now but we only decided to be an item just last year." Shepard could tell Ashley was ecstatic and began explaining the term 'an item' to both Garrus and Tali in a hushed tone. "Yes, I purposely hid my relationship because, well, I'm Commander Shepard, the most famous marine on Earth, heh, and she's the daughter of powerful matriarch in Asari space, we didn't want to attract any unwanted attention from the lots of Khilasah Al-Jilani, Terra Firma." Shepard was faking her smile and was hoping her very real nervousness was covering it up... -_Smooth Shepard, real smooth.-_

"Okay, I get that you two are calibrating each other but don't you think your plans to get bonded are coming at an..._inopportune_ time? We still need to catch Saren and you decided to get married next week? Can't you wait until_after_ we capture Saren? Unless you_want_ him to crash your wedding ceremony of course." This time Garrus couldn't help himself from questioning his commanding officer; he crossed his arms and tilted his head back in question.

"Actually, I was planning to marry her after the mission but..." Shepard sighed for a dramatic effect and continued, "you all know that the tension between Humans and Asari has been increasing at an exponential rate. That's why we've decided to get married and bonded as soon as possible. We hope the wedding can calm the storm, so to speak. Benezia was so happy she said she would sponsor everything. I guess that's one of the perks of having a rich mother-in-law. And don't worry I'll make sure my marriage won't inhibit my performance as your Commander. Besides, it's not like we've decided to have little blue children anytime soon." Shepard shrugged, at least _that_ was true.

"So... do you _love_ her?" Kaidan asked skeptically. His eyes were boring into hers with intensity.

"Uh-huh." Shepard grunted the affirmative without looking at him and took a bite of her sandwich. She started to feel uncomfortable. Suddenly she felt as if the temperature of the room had dropped to below freezing; she involuntary shifted her weight.

"Well, I'm happy for you, Commander. Hey can I see her picture?" Tali asked cheerfully.

"Thank you Tali, but no you can't see it yet. Anyways guys, I gotta go." Shepard quickly finished her breakfast and get off from her chair. She headed towards her quarters before they asked her more questions. Shepard was afraid she might slip and said something wrong if they kept pestering her with questions.

* * *

"Commander, your mother-in-law is on the com-link. I mean _future_ mother-in-law." Joker's voice interrupted her. Shepard rolled her eyes. Since the crew knew about the wedding, they decided to tease her at every opportunity. She stopped assembling her model ship and got out of bed.

"Joker, I'll take it from here." Shepard opened her omnitool and she was greeted with a panic-stricken Benezia.

"Shepard, I've received an urgent message from my daughter. She said she was being chased by Geth while exploring a Prothean ruin! I think Saren is after her right now. Your ship is the fastest. Please find her, Shepard. I don't know what happened to her and I tried to contact her again but… she... she-" Benezia begged with a pleading note.

"Don't worry ma'am I'll find her just give me the coordinates." Shepard interrupted politely. Benezia obeyed. After addressing her distraught _mother-in-law_, Shepard contacted her favorite pilot immediately.

"Joker?"

"Yes, Commander?"

"I'm sending you some coordinates. Set out immediately and inform Tali and Garrus to suit up." Shepard said quickly. She was slightly nervous with the prospect of meeting her future wife sooner than she had anticipated, "This is going to be a long mission..."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The team got out from the broken elevator and sprinted to the platform. Then they saw an asari trapped in a big blue bubble.

Shepard would say the mission was fairly easy so far, at least for her. Thanks to Tali's skill in hacking and Garrus' expertise in using sniper rifle, they managed to get rid of the geth without breaking a sweat. Shepard couldn't ask for a better team for this mission. But the hardest part was yet to come and this moment had a high chance of becoming one.

The biggest challenge of the mission was that Shepard did not know how Liara T'soni looked like and how on Earth she was supposed to check whether the trapped asari was Liara or not. Under different circumstances, Shepard could easily ask a simple question, let's say, "Are you Liara T'soni?" That 4-word sentence was not difficult to be uttered. Almost anyone could pronounce those words, including the commander. Even a 4-year-old child could say that.

However at the moment she certainly didn't have the luxury to ask a question like that. It would be weird if she voiced that out in front of Tali and Garrus. They would suspect something was wrong if she didn't recognize her supposed lover. Shepard mentally kicked herself for refusing to take a look at Liara's picture when she was offered the chance by Benezia. It would have taken a mere 3 seconds to look at the picture, but Shepard did not, and thus made a big mistake, a very big mistake.

Now she was not sure if the asari trapped within was Benezia's daughter or someone else. Shepard had studied all the information about Liara, ranging from her education to her favorite dish, but she had never, not even once, taken a moment to see Liara's picture. What if Liara had another asari to accompany her and she had been killed by the geth and this helpless asari was her friend?

Shepard was wondering if she, somehow, could politely excuse herself and retreat into some corner in order to do a quick search for Liara's picture on the extranet.

"Is that Liara?" Garrus asked Shepard. Shepard swallowed her throat, fear billowing out from the pit of her stomach. She purposely ignored the question, pretending to check her heavily modded Black Widow. Shepard was agitated, if it wasn't for her helmet, they could have seen her nervous expression.

They slowly approached the asari. Liara tilted her head slightly; she saw a turian, a quarian and a human. From her observation, she guessed the human was the leader of the group. She was alarmed, not knowing whether they were enemies or allies. But she was more willing to take a chance with them than with the geth and the krogan battlemaster, whom she was trying to escape in the first place, ultimately trapping herself in the Prothean security device.

"Can you help me?" The asari pleaded. She sounded exhausted.

"Hey are you Liara T'soni, Shepard's girlfriend?" Tali asked eagerly, much to Shepard's relief. Shepard let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding inside her lungs. At least she didn't have to ask that stupid question. Apparently Tali was excited to meet Shepard's future wife and her eagerness had saved Shepard this time. Shepard barely stifled her laughter when she studied the asari. Liara was hanging like a chicken, waiting to be slaughtered. She swore she heard a chuckle from Garrus.

"What?! Oh yes, I'm Liara T'soni. Who are you?" Liara's attention focused on the team_. 'Shepard's girlfriend? How did they know about this? Who are they?'_

"I'm Commander Shepa-" the first human Spectre cleared her throat, realizing her mistake. _'That's not how you introduce yourself to your lover, you fool.'_ Once again she mentally slapped herself.

"Hey Liara, it's me, Shepard. And this is Garrus and that cute little quarian is Tali." Shepard tried to sound as friendly as possible. She fidgeted nervously while biting her lower lip. She was grateful that her helmet did a good job in covering the grimace on her face.

Liara's eyes widened when she heard the human's introduction. She hadn't expected to be rescued by her future bondmate, no, her future _fake_ bondmate, she corrected herself. She was supposed to feel relieved but right now she felt more intrigued and awkward at the same time. She certainly didn't expect to meet Shepard in this situation while she was hanging in the air helplessly.

Liara was slightly irritated at the human for not taking her helmet off. She couldn't see Shepard's face. She shook her head, realizing that she needed to play her role as she had promised her mother.

After much coaxing, blackmailing and cajoling from her mother, Liara had reluctantly agreed to be bonded with the human. Her mother also had promised to leave her alone regarding her career choice; in fact, Benezia had tactfully sponsored her expedition to Therum as a token of appreciation.

"Oh,_ Shepard dear_, can you help me get out of this Prothean security device?" She did her best to give a warm reply. Shepard raised an eyebrow; she noticed the fake warm tone in the asari's voice. _'Well two can play the same game.'_

"_Honey_, how come a brainy, intelligent scientist like you got trapped in this bubble?" Shepard made sure her intonation contained some sarcasm. She crossed her arms smugly.

Liara sighed heavily; she didn't have time for this. She was exhausted, hungry and tired. She would be grateful if this arrogant soldier as Shepard currently behaved like, according to Liara's rather high standards could quickly help her.

"I was chased by geth and I accidentally activated the device. I must have pressed the wrong button."

"Naturally." Shepard broke into a laughing fit, holding her stomach. Liara glared at her and Shepard abruptly stopped her laughter, she hurriedly reminded herself the seriousness of the situation. "Ok, any idea how shall we turn this off?"

"Disable this console. The problem is you can't do that from the outside. You'll need to find the way, I'm afraid."

"Yes, ma'am" Shepard mockingly saluted her.

Using the mininglaser gun, Shepard and the team managed to release Liara from that security device. However, their mission was far from finished as they were confronted by two geth and a bloody krogan battlemaster.

"Give me that asari, and you may walk away alive." The krogan demanded.

Part of Shepard wanted to say ' Yes, you may take her so I don't have to marry her. So it's a win-win situation. It's a pleasure to do business with you. Have a good day.'

"Sorry, no one steals my girlfriend." Shepard replied heroically. She was willing to bet her Black Widow that Liara was about to puke after hearing that statement.

"You little pyjak!" The krogan bellowed angrily. The krogan opened fire and Shepard dodged the bullet effortlessly and swiftly cloaked herself. She glanced at Liara who managed to hide behind a cover. Tali and Garrus were busy handling the geth.

"What's wrong with you, human! Show yourself, you coward!" Shepard smiled at the mockery, it was not the first time she was called coward because of her fighting style. Shepard preferred to cloak, hide and snipe her enemies using her Black Widow, and she rarely fought her foes face to face. Some marines were not satisfied with her fighting style especially when she was dubbed as an Alliance hero and they taunted her because of that. But of course Shepard didn't really care as long as she accomplished her missions and she never asked them to call her a hero anyway. One thing for sure though, Shepard always made sure she killed her enemy that dared to call her coward. Her mouth tugged into a smile. 'Okay, let's do this'.

* * *

"Tali, could you please escort Liara to the med bay, have Dr Chakwas examine her and I'll have a debriefing session an hour later. Liara, I think you should contact your mother, she's worried herself sick about you. And for the time being, you will stay at the storage room, at the back of med bay," Shepard commanded tiredly. She was utterly exhausted and she really needed a shower.

"Wait, Commander, I thought she would stay in your cabin," Tali asked. Both Shepard and Liara snapped and looked at each other, hoping the other would give a satisfying answer to the question.

"Err... actually...we…" Shepard stammered helplessly. '_Think Shepard, think of something, anything'_. She looked at Liara with a pair of pleading eyes. But of course Liara couldn't see her puppy eyes as they were blocked by her damn helmet. Liara just shrugged her shoulders, still felt annoyed with the human who refused to take off her helmet. '_Yeah, thanks T'soni for your help'._ Shepard took a deep breath.

"Well, I believe in one human tradition. Err, when a couple decides to get married, they should not see each other before their wedding day. It's considered bad luck. And I think it's the best for us if we stay in separate rooms before the ceremony."

"What? Why?" Tali asked again. Shepard took a look around her, suddenly feeling an urge to see if she could space Tali from the nearest airlock.

"Because we humans are weird" Shepard answered shortly. Shepard wasted no time and headed toward the elevator. She needed to flee from the scene as fast as she could.

Arriving at her quarters, Shepard shed her Blood Dragon armor and entered her bathroom. She was relieved to have a much needed shower. While in shower, she thought about her meeting with Liara. For her, the overall counter was awkward and… awkward. Yep, it was awkward.

She was wondering about how much longer she could keep her facade in front of her crew. How much longer she could pretend they were a couple.

Shepard felt her head was pounding. She massaged her head. Since the beacon had imprinted some images into her brain, she had regular headaches and the predicament she just got herself into just made the pain even worse.

Shepard entered the conference room where the whole ground crew were waiting for her including Liara T'soni. Liara tilted her head and saw the human for the first time, without a helmet blocking her face. Shepard looked less intimidating without her armor as she was wearing an N7 long-sleeve shirt and a pair of grey cargo pants. Liara could see her muscled arms as Shepard rolled up the sleeves to the elbows. Her hair, still wet, was sticking out in every direction.

"Too close Commander, 10 more seconds and we would have been swimming in molten sulfur. The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference." Joker chimed in from the comm link.

"What?" Shepard gasped mockingly. "Aww I was planning to take Normandy for a dive into that lava someday."

"Har har har. Hilarious, Commander."

Liara watched the exchange with interest. _'They are making jokes, even if we barely escaped our untimely death?'_ Liara always thought humans were weird.

"So, doct… Liara, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine Shepard. Dr. Chakwas has cleared me to join you," Liara replied politely.

"Good to hear. Everyone this is Dr. Liara T'soni, she's-"

"Your girlfriend," Tali interrupted.

"Your beloved future wife," Ashley laughed.

"Your breeding mate," even Wrex didn't pass up the opportunity to tease his commander.

"Your calibrating partner," Garrus joined as well.

"Your Vaenia partner," Joker butted in from the comm link.

Shepard rolled her eyes and put her hand on her face, she groaned inwardly. She was considering whether she should throw the lot of them into the brig or space them out. Liara was blushing profusely. Shepard's crew always loved to make jokes with each other almost all the time, during firefights, briefings, poker games to name a few, due to their commander's easy going attitude. Shepard didn't mind the jokes as long as they obeyed her command.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. Oh Kaidan don't you want to add something?" Shepard asked sarcastically.

"No, I'm good, Commander," Kaidan answered irritably. He crossed his arms tightly.

"Good. Liara is _also_ a Prothean expert. She could help us make sense of why Saren is looking for the Conduit. So Liara, do you have any idea what the Conduit is?" Shepard shot the question right away, straight to the business, before her crew got another chance to make some crude jokes. Liara enthusiastically explained her studies on Protheans in a lengthy discussion. Shepard clearly was not satisfied with Liara's explanation, since her insight failed to provide the reason why Saren was chasing the Conduit or what Saren's motive was.

"That's all? Well I expected more from you since you have spent 50 years doing research about Protheans. Your research is not helpful for us to catch Saren," Shepard coldly interrupted Liara's lecture. _'Maybe you should do what your species do best, being strippers __or air-headed Eclipse mercs__.'_

Liara looked offended at the spiteful comment from Shepard. She glared at her supposed bondmate with all hatred she could possibly summon.

"Oh really? How about you share what you know about Protheans and we'll see whose information is more useful," Liara replied tersely. Liara was fuming as the human dared to question her hard-earned scientific position.

"Well I've got one theory about Prothean extinction. I think they were wiped out by the Reapers, a race of sentient machines," Shepard crossed her arms smugly.

"What? The Reapers? I've never heard about that. Do you have any evidence to support your baseless theory?" Liara asked incredulously.

"50 years of searching for Prothean ruins and you've never heard of Reapers? Wow I'm amazed. By the way I was imprinted with a vision by a Prothean beacon. It shows the Reapers wiping out the whole Prothean civilization, maybe; I'm not really sure, I can't really understand them though."

"You've been touched by a Prothean beacon, a working beacon?" Liara forgot all her anger and her negative feeling was replaced with astonishment.

"Yup, but sorry to disappoint you, the beacon exploded," Shepard didn't sound sorry at all.

Liara secretly was amazed by the commander who still survived after the beacon had imprinted some images into her brain. She knew this commander was remarkably strong-willed. But of course, Liara would not voice that out or else the commander's head would get even bigger.

"I can meld with you and maybe I can figure out what the images are," Liara's tone changed. She didn't care if she sounded desperate. This opportunity was too good to pass.

"Nope, I don't think you can help, considering the _amount _of knowledge you have about Protheans." Shepard waved the idea dismissively. There's no way she would let the asari to get into her head.

She glanced at Liara's murderous face. The crew watched the argument with amusement, both Shepard and Liara fought like an old married couple.

"Wait doctor, I have a question," Ashley interrupted the couple.

"Yes?" Liara did her best to subdue her anger.

"How old are you exactly?"

Liara blushed upon hearing the question. She didn't expect to be asked so blatantly about her age.

"Well I'm 106, I know that by asari standards I'm considered barely older than a child, perhaps that's why people tend to _discredit_ my research" Liara made sure her glare focused at Shepard's eyes.

"106? Wow, I hope I look that young at that age." Ashley said. Liara blushed once again. Shepard just snorted. Shepard was not pleased with where the discussion was heading.

"Okay, any questions? No? That's all for now," Shepard dismissed them. She was about to exit the room when she added:

"Liara, I need to talk to you privately. Meet me at my cabin."

"Talk, yeah right," Garrus teased. Shepard heard the crew whistling and laughing. She turned around and narrowed her eyes at them, then crossed her arms and tapped her foot warningly, challenging anyone who dared to laugh at her. Their laughter ceased when they realized that their commander was most definitely not amused.

* * *

A/n : Thank you Galactic Alien for your helpful opinion and constant support. And thank you guys for your reviews.


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